


Aftermath

by Captainmintyfresh



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Fix-it fic, M/M, Not Really Character Death, Post-Season/Series 03, Redemption, Sibling Bonding, Stranger Things Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-22 06:03:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19661323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captainmintyfresh/pseuds/Captainmintyfresh
Summary: POST SERIES 3SERIES 3 SPOILERS IN HERE.“Max.” Steve said, voice a few octaves higher than usual. “Please tell me you didn’t do some spell and bring Billy back to life.” And really, after everything he’d seen in the past few years a grieving 14 year old resurecting her brother wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that he’d come across.“What? No of course not. Magics not real Steve.” Max snapped, like Steve was an idiot to believe magic could be real even after everything they’d seen.“Then why the hell do you have a very alive Billy Hargrove tied up in the basement?”“I think he’s a zombie.”“Right...of course.. Zombies, Why not.” Steve sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he looked at the teen. His hair was shorter, his clothes covering every inch of skin short of his face that held a new scar high on one of his cheeks, but despite the diffenences Steve could tell it definitely was Hargrove.





	Aftermath

“And so once you’ve done an ice cream you have to wash yo-” Robin said, voice drawling on even as she seemed to speak fast enough it left him squinting as he tried to catch up. It was just...so boring. The hat itched at his scalp, his hair felt perpetually flat stuffed beneath it. His shorts kept riding up his thighs and Robin seemed to enjoy watching the will to lie filter out of him as the day and the pointless training explanations rattled out of her mouth like she hadn’t started a grand total of four days before he had. She sat on the counter as she talked, heels tapping out a beat on the edge of the counters as she waggled them hyperactively. 

“Steve?!” Steve turned in relief at the new, voice, watching as Max scurried into scoops ahoy, eyes wide and mouth hanging open as she eyed him critically.

“Max? God, don’t tell me the other shitheads are here.”

“What are you doing here?” She asked. Steve raised an eyebrow, wondering if Max thought he really walked around in a sailors outfit out of choice.

“I work here, I told you lot I got a job.”

“You didn’t tell us it was at an ice cream parlor.” She grinned. “Does that mean we get free ice cream?”

“No.” Robin said. 

“Yeah I guess.” Steve hummed, he ignored Robin’s noise of protest. “What about you, what are you doing here?”

“Taking a well earned. break.” She said whimsically. 

“A break from what?”

“Billy.” She groaned. “Mom was meant to take me out to buy me something for my birthday but she’s got the flu so Neil made Billy bring me. We’ve been here for almost an hour and he keeps stopping to look at dumb shit, we haven’t even got to the shop I want yet. It’s meant to be my birthday he’s such a-”

“Hargroves here?” Steve asked.

“Yes, Billy’s here, were you even listening?” 

“MAXINE?! Where the fuc-” Billy’s voice boomed through the chattering mall. Steve groaned, he really didn’t need Hargrove seeing him and telling everyone ‘king’ Steve was now slumming it in a freaking ice cream parlor for three dollars an hour.

“I’m here!” Max yelled back. 

“Don’t-” Steve whined too late as Hargrove swaggered into the ice cream parlor.

“What the fuck are you-” Billy broke off, gaze falling on Steve. Steve shifted uncomfortably as his eyes trailed up and down his body slowly before a laugh exploded out of the teen, loud enough to startle Robin off of the counter and make Max jump half a foot in the air.

Steve shot a condescending smile back.

“What the fuck are you  _ wearing  _ Harrington?” Billy asked when he’d sobered enough to speak.

“It’s my uniform.” Steve grumbled. “I work here.”

“He said we get free icecream.” Max blurted.

“It’s coming out of your half of the tips.” Robin muttered.

“Can we stay for one?” Max asked, her voice was stiff, guarded, like she was already expecting a no but her eyes were shining hopefully. Billy’s lips curled in a grin, not a smirk or a smug ooze of a smile but a real grin.

“Oh we can stay as long as you want, Maxine” Billy said, eyes on Steve and even though Steve knew Billy was only interested in staying because it meant he got to see Steve in the frankly mortifying sailors outfit he was forced to wear he couldn’t help but be thankful for it at Max’s face lit up in a disbelieving smile. 

“What do you want?” Steve asked.

“Wrong.” Robin sighed. “Remember you greet customers-”

“I know them. I’m not going to-”

“Company policy, Harrington.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Well test it, I’d be happy to have a new co-worker.” 

“Fuck. Fine.” Steve snapped, eyes dropping to the counter. “Ahoy, there. What can i-”

“Nope.”

“Robin-”

“Do it properly.” Steve sucked on his lower lip, resisting the urge to shove her into the back room and lock her there until the end of the god awful shift. 

“Ahoy, there.”

“amazing.” Hargrove breathed. Looking like Christmas had come early.

“-My names Steve and i’ll be your Capain as you set sail on this ocean of flavor.” He continued like Billy hadn’t said anything.

“Can I get a strawberry sundae?” Max asked.

“One strawberry sundae coming up.” Robin said, hoping to work. Steve eyed Billy who was still just staring.

“I didn’t quite hear the greeting, I think maybe you should-” Billy started. 

“You want something or are you just gonna mock me?” Steve huffed.

“Ahem.”

“Oh come-” Steve started, Robin cleared her throat pointedly once more. “But he-”

“Company policy.” Robin sung softly. Steve drew in a steadying breath, scrubbing a hand over his chin, begging the ground to swallow him whole, when it didn’t he let his gaze meet Billy’s once again.

“And what would you like Sailor?” He grit out. Even Max cracked, a giggle bubbling from her throat as Billy all but keeled over, hooting in laughter. The worst thing was it didn’t even sound mocking. It sounded happy, full of pure joy like how Dustin had laughed when Max had managed to get the Byers dog to push itself along on her skateboard. 

“He’ll have a vanilla cone.” Max offered, when Billy had looked up, tears of laughter hanging off his lashes and seemingly nowhere near done.

She had eventually managed to maneuver Billy into a booth. The two falling silent as Billy’s laughter finally died down and they picked at their ice creams while Robin declared it ws time for her break and disappeared without a trace. Steve lounged against the counter, twirling his dumb sailor hat in one hand while he tried to subtly watch the step-siblings.

“I haven’t heard you laugh in years.” Max said softly.

“I laughed at you earlier.” Billy defended, scraping a finger through his ice cream and popping it into his mouth.

“Not like that.” Max murmured.

“Like what?” Billy huffed.

“Like you’re actually happy.” She admitted, cheeks already as red as her hair, watching billy over the top of her sundae like he might launch across the table at her for the mere suggestion he’d been happy for a second. The blond pulled his finger from his mouth with a small smacking sound, eyebrows drawn together as his lips pressed into a thin line. The air seemed to crackle with tension. Beads of condensation ran down the edge of Max’s sundae. Steve stood up straighter, eyeing his discarded scoop, wondering how he’d use it as a weapon to defend the girl if Billy did attack her. It seemed Steve’s small shift drew Billy’s attention because once again the teen let out an ugly snort of laughter.

“Fucking hell.” He chortled. “How can you not find that hilarious?” 

“It’s my uniform, man.” Steve snapped. “Besides, i think i pull it off pretty well.” It was lie, a bald faced, grandmother would turn in her grave lie but he couldn’t exactly admit to Billy that he knew he looked like a moron.

“You don’t. You look like a skinny popeye.” Max said instanly, her hand slapped over her mouth a moment later as if she hadn’t meant to let the words out. Billy slapped the table hard enough to make her sundae rock in place as he howled a laugh that sounded suspiciously like ‘popeye’.

“Oh, fuck you. You’re both assholes.” Steve huffed petulantly, stomping to the backroom to the sound of the siblings laughter breaking into tentative conversation.

At that moment, as he’d eavesdropped on the first olive branch being extended between the two in the form of a gruff  _ ‘we can come again, if you want, the ice creams not bad’  _ from Mr ‘not my sister’’ himself Steve had known summer was going to suck. 

He didn’t quite realise how bad until a few months later when he’d been dropped what felt like 8 million feet in an elevator to a Russian base and all hell had broken loose in Hawkins, Indiana.

*

The first funeral was on a tuesday. It seemed the whole town had gathered in the cemetery on the edges of the city. The air tasted like blood from an approaching storm and the skies opened like they themselves wept. The rain pounded atop of umbrellas like the rumble of thunder, everywhere Steve looked there were families cloaked in black clothes huddled together with sober faces. 

El’s sobs could be heard even from where Steve was standing, cramped with the townspeople who only really knew Hopper by his status, or by the ‘hero cop dies’ newspaper articles spilling across porches. By all rights he should have fit amongst them, be just as ignorant, only knowing Hopper as a tragic savior.

And yet he wasn’t, didn’t fit at all because he knew the truth, he’d helped fight the end of the world with Hopper too many times to feel right standing amongst the faceless crowds. Felt bile in his throat when he couldn’t just shout at everyone to get the fuck out of his way so he could go stand with the party but he knew it would cause too much attention, and for all the newspapers said Steve had nothing to do with what happened at the Mall. So he’d stood alone in the crowd, hair in stuck to his forehead, soaked suit plastered to his body. He’d grit his teeth against El’s sobs, watched the empty coffin lower into the grave to distract himself from the way Dustin’s lower lip was wobbling and played his part. Robin found him half way through, elbowing her way through the crowd in a way that Hopper probably would have appreciated and taking her place next to Steve.

When it ended Steve had realised just how many people had come when he’d seen the news crews being held back by the officers that should have been at the front of the service. The flocks of out of towners crying empty tears for a man they never knew. 

The second funeral, if you could even call it that, couldn’t have been more different despite only being a day later. The sky was a clear blue, the sunlight so strong it left sweat trickling down Steve’s temples and the knobbles of his spine. No one was there, Lucas hadn’t been able to come, shipped off to his grans for the rest of the week while the media storm calmed down immediately after Hoppers funeral. 

Even Joyce and El hadn't showed up. Not that he could blame them, El had finally sobbed herself to sleep around 4am, Joyce following just after, the party was probably still snoring away around El in a protective little circle after Max had rescinded their invitation after Mike had said it was probably good Max and Billy hadn’t gotten on well.

Steve’s suit had still been too damp to wear so he’d been stuck in a pair of blue jeans and the darkest top he could find, Max had the same problem with her dress instead lad in an oversized Metallica top and a pair of sunshine yellow shorts. 

The graveyard was silent. Max didn’t make a sound as her legs gave out beneath her and she hit the earth with a crash, scrapping her knees against the sun-dried ground. her shoulders shook and her hair fluttered around her as the warm breeze brought on the smell of summer flowers over them. Steve crouched next to her, a hand on her shoulder while his eyes moved to the second fresh gravestone.

There was no grave dug, no empty coffin buried. Just a cheap looking headstone that Neil had bitched about having to buy until Max ordered him and Susan to leave.

Steve didn’t cry. He fought off the memories of watching the last hit stab through Billys' chest, ignored the way Max’s horrified screams still reverberated in his head when he looked at the haunted look in her eyes as she stared at the gravestone. 

“Do you want to go?” Steve asked softly when the tears streaming from her cheeks were seeming to slow. Her head shook instantly.

“Can we stay?” She croaked. “For a little bit?”

“We can stay for as long as you want.” Steve said. An audible sob broke from her then, her shoulders jolting as broken noises passed her lips. He pulled her into him, let her bury her face into the crook of his neck as she shattered.

“I want him back.”

“I’m so sorry.” Was all Steve could say. He couldn’t mourn Billy, not properly, Couldn’t grieve with Max. He’d barely even known him. Had more bad memories of him than good ones and had been happy to keep it that way. Any time he’d spent with Billy since their fight was entirely accidental. But Max, Max had been getting to know him and if the way she was clinging to Steve like maybe he could keep her together was anything to go by she’d wanted more time to do just that.


End file.
